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justice4harwin · 3 years

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Light’s Corruption-Chapter IX

Summary: With few friends at the Little Palace, Alina must work to win the favour of her fellow grisha and their commander, who makes her feel light headed every time she sees him.

After training in Os Alta for two years, the king grows tired of waiting and demands the Sun Summoner joins a western post near the Fjerdan border along with the rest of The Second Army to test her abilities.

Something happens. Suddenly, Alina wants blood to run down the rivers and those who stand in her and The Darkling’s way will be blinded by her light and swallowed by his shadows.

It won’t be pretty.

Pairing: The DarklingxAlina

Rating: 18+

As usual, the tags are in the comments; if you no longer want to be in the list or wanna be added, please don’t hesitate to let me know :)

Click here for chapter VIII if you missed it

Chapter 9: Dancers

Aleksander

When Alina met with him at the entrance to the Little Palace just before dawn, she looked slightly green.

He suppressed a small smile. A still half-drunk Genya had reported to him of his summoner's activities, and while it was technically not allowed to hold celebrations, he'd make no comment nor punish Alina for it. Did it really count if it was just the two of them anyways? They had already developed the custom of eating and drinking the afternoon away together. Besides, he needed her on his side.

"How are you feeling, Alina?" he asked, starting to walk towards the gates, where two Oprichniki were posted.

She followed slowly, her feet dragging across the floor.

"Great. Cold and tired, but I'm peachy." she said in the most monotonous voice he had heard from her so far.

She was truly amusing sometimes, more so than Ivan, maybe.

"Let us go." he offered her his arm, and she eyed it like she suspected it to be a disguised rifle before gladly taking it.

They strode out of the Little Palace into the biting cold of the ravkan winter on their own. There was no need guards when Alina was with him.

They walked far down south, nearing the woods that formed part of the Palaces grounds.

"Why do we have to do it so early?" Alina complained, taking a fist to her mouth.

If he did not know any better, he would think she was about to vomit.

"So nobody else gets to see you." he explained as they came to a stop at the edge of the woods. She dropped her hand and he immediately missed the warmth of her body. "Most people enjoy sleeping in late, especially during this season."

"You mean the king is a lazy bastard?"

He smiled, briefly.

"You learn faster than I thought."

"I'm insulted." Alina said, brows frowned, looking sicker by the second. "Everyone keeps saying that."

He felt tempted to tease her further, but he caught himself before he did such nonsense and cleared his head.

"Call the light."

It was still dark enough that they would not need to summon his shadows during the first few lessons.

She gulped, cheeks puffing for a second, and then did as asked. A big orb of light appeared from her pretty…from her hands, warming up the space they occupied.

"Now what?"

"Do it again but try to control the size."

Alina obeyed, the light fading before she made it re-appear again, smaller. She did it again and again without need to be told, making the orb of light smaller and smaller until it was nothing but a candle's flame.

"Good. Now make it bigger."

He watched as she did it, the orb growing, taking over her arms, then taking over her entire body, then taking over his as well, and then grew a little more, maybe a meter or two, before it began to flicker.

"You are afraid." he said plainly.

"I'm not!" of course she would have it in herself to argue with him, even in such a state.

"You will not loose control, Alina." he told her calmly, sure of his words as he was sure of his name. "You are far stronger than you give yourself credit for."

She looked at him, her dark eyes full of hope, and something deeper he did not accomplish to decipher. Saints, he hated when she did that.

Alina closed her eyes then, and with a deep breath, she bought her hands in towards her sides and expanded again. The orb grew and kept growing, melting the snow in its way, leaving everything drenched and in various shapes of green and browns, as if autumn had not abandoned them.

He watched her in fascination as she dropped her hands and still, the light remained.

She truly was stronger than she realised.

She looked at him.

"Now what?" she asked, her voice, so soft and lovely, anyone else would not guess her to wield such a great power.

"Now the real work begins." he breathed out, his hands itching for something. He was not sure what. Her? or her power?

In the blink of an eye, the light disappeared, and she hunched over, heavily throwing up on the damp, green grass.

He sighed, walking over and around her to hold her hair back.

The real work would begin after she was feeling better.

Alina liked it when mommy made water dance. It made her giggle, and she loved chasing the flow, even though she knew she'd never catch it.

Daddy liked it when the water danced too. One time, when Alina asked him if he could make something dance too, he had pulled her up into his arm and grabbed mommy with his other free arm and made them all twirl until the world spun and their humble, temporary home was full of childish joy.

They didn't have much, but love, that was something that overflowed the small hut they lived in.

When she was maybe four, or at least that was the amount of fingers Alina showed the people of the village when they asked her age with a little smile, her parents decided to go live in another village near Caryeva.

Little Alina was used to that. They never stayed too long in one place. It did make her a little sad though, for she always had to say goodbye to her little friends, and Alina hated saying goodbye.

"Why don't we live in one place, pappa?" she asked, her tiny hand clasped in his.

He looked down as they advanced, his hair almost shining in a colour that was very close to black when the sun hit it right.

"Because exploring is fun!" he had said, although his smile didn't quite reach his blue eyes.

"I know you like exploring." she said, rolling her eyes. She knew that already, why was he so dummy and didn't answer her question? Watching as her mommy walked a few paces ahead, she smiled. "That is how you met mamma isn't it?"

"Exactly!" he said, pinching her nose affectionately. "And we get to make lots, lots of friends!"

"But then we never see them again." the child complained.

Her father frowned slightly.

"The memories are what count, Alinochka."

The child felt sad anyways. She wanted to stay in one place for more than a season. Besides, she didn't like being lied to, and as small as she was, she could tell there were things her parents didn't tell her.

"Tell me again how you and mommy met!" she asked, taking a small leap. If he didn't want to listen to her, then he could talk.

He sighed dramatically, but smiled and placed her in his shoulders before he began the tale.

Her pappa had always liked to travel. He wanted to know the entire world. When his parents died when he was fifteen -Alina struggled to count with her fingers, but he showed her how much with his own hand-, he set off to see all of Ravka, even making it through The Fold. He wandered up north, where the fjerdans lived in their eternal winters -or so he said-, and quickly got bored, so he decided to go back to Ravka and continue south.

He found himself in Shu Han, where he stayed longer. He headed northeast, where he discovered a small village of people who could make things dance, just like mommy. And Mommy was there!

He was allowed to stay there, so long as he kept quiet about their dancing abilities. He learned the language, and he went on pursuit of mommy. Daddy always said that she just couldn't resist his 'charms' -whatever those were, they sounded gross-, to which mommy would raise an eyebrow and question him. Alina loved that part, for mommy and daddy would start teasing each other about who loved who first. She always giggled like mad as mommy playfully splashed water on daddy's face.

The part of the story Alina didn't like was the one that took place a long time after pappa had settled with the dancing people. He told her, with a small, almost scared voice, that one day, mean people showed up uninvited at the village, and he and mommy ran into the mountains, for the mean people didn't know how to dance and wanted to learn how to.

"They didn't ask nicely?"

"No, Alina, they didn't. They didn't think it was normal for people to make things dance."

"Oh; …but it's so pretty!" she would say, not understanding why those mean people couldn't ask nicely to be taught.

They realized Alina was in mommy's tummy halfway through their journey back to Ravka through the mountains.

They both told her of how she was born at sunrise, in the middle of a field surrounded by nothing but two old stone columns.

That was where they were headed to again.

Alina couldn't wait to see the place.

They stayed in a village nearby first, during a few weeks, much to the child's frustration. She wanted to see the place with the columns! But her parents had to work.

They stayed in a muddy inn Alina didn't like, where neither she nor her mother would walk around by themselves. The people there stared at them funny, they didn't wave their hands back when Alina did it with a big grin; but they were nice enough to pappa.

Alina asked why.

"We don't look like them, my love." her mother had told her one night as she undid what was left of the braid she had sported during the day. "That makes some people wary."

"What's wary?"

"It means that things and people that are different or look different make them uncomfortable."

"But pappa isn't uncomf-con-comf-uncomfy-"

"Uncomfortable." she laughed serenely, tucking her into the bed they all had to share.

"That! And look!" she said, turning and taking her hair in her tiny hands, expanding it to both sides. "I have ugly hair like him." her mother laughed again, her own, silky black hair falling down her back in a mesmerizing way. Alina sat on the bed, hands pinching the thin sheets. "He likes to be around us."

"He does." her mother agreed.

"Will you take me to see the place with the columns tomorrow?"

Her mother placed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"We can't go yet, my love." she answered softly.

"When?"

"When we find a small place to live in while we stay here, your father will take you."

Alina rolled her eyes. She knew they'd probably be long gone before that. It had something to do with her mother not wanting to join an army of dancers like her. Her parents wouldn't tell her, even though she now needed a second hand to show people how old she was!

She said nothing though, and let her mother lean down and place a kiss atop her forehead.

"I love you." her mamma whispered.

"Me too. And pappa." she yawned, turning on her side. The bed was big, and they had to share, but even at the tender age of six, Alina was so small she could get lost in it. "Tell him when he gets back from work."

"I will."

The little girl fell asleep.

The little girl woke up only a few hours later, to the smell of smoke, gunshots, yelling, fire everywhere and startled.

It had been years since she had dreamt about her parents, and those dreams were not usually pleasant. They were filled with blood and fear and cold, and it would make her sneak out of the girls' room to go snuggle with Mal, her face buried into his thin pillow as she cried.

This dream though…she didn't exactly remember all those things, yet she knew, deep inside, that they had occurred.

She laid in bed, blankets up to her chin, staring up.

Saints: she couldn't even remember their names.

She was supposed to head down for breakfast, but instead she buried herself further into the clear sheets of her bed, a few stray tears falling down her eyes.

Despite the warmth of the blankets, she couldn't stop shivering.

She was still in bed when Genya found her later, right after lunch. She hadn't been happy about it and had all but dragged and untangled Alina out of her bed like one might rudely bring down a scared cat from a tree.

Once she was laying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and her friend's unimpressed face, she deigned herself to speak.

"What?"

" 'What', she asks?" She extended a hand and Alina took it, noticing the maids tending to the fire and the ones preparing her a bath. "It's just the Winter Fete and you're expected to perform in front of all the nobles of Ravka, but go ahead and lay in bed all day looking like that." Genya went on as she pointed in the general direction of her face and then grabbed her kit and opened it. " 'What?' she asks" the Tailor snorted. "Go wash yourself, lazy."

"Crazy."

"I'll make you look like a toad."

"…I'll roast your hair."

It was hard for Alina to focus while Genya worked on her hair and face. She kept on thinking about her parents but, as much as she tried, she could scarcely recall their faces.

Pappa was a good dancer. That she remembered.

Mamma made water dance. That she remembered now.

Alina could almost not believe that she had forgotten them, and that fateful night, and the days that followed after.

A chill settled deep in her bones as she looked at herself, clad in her blue and gold kefta -The General had sent a black one, along with a strange pair of gloves, but she rejected them-, and she couldn't shake the background noises of people yelling and the heavy smell of smoke.

Then nothing.

A strange nothingness that made her eyes fill with tears.

"Hey, you will be fine." Genya, standing behind her as she added the finishing touches, said demurely, placing a kind hand on her shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. You show some light and then it's over. I promise."

Alina nodded absentmindedly, but the words glossed over her just like droplets of rain against glass.

"You know," her friend continued, leaning against the vanity and intertwining her fingers together. "You never told me when your birthday is."

At this, Alina looked up from her hands at her friend's waiting gaze.

She cleared her throat, her thoughts, and tried to form an answer.

"Uh, um…back in Keramzin, I was one of the kids celebrated in March."

"Celebrated in March?" Genya asked, her brows coming almost together.

"Uh, I was very young when I was placed there; I don't remember my exact birth date." she looked down at her hands again, feeling somewhat amazed that she was still here and feeling a great deal of nothingness at the same time. "I believe it was sometime during the summer." she murmured, mostly to herself.

She had a vague memory, of two faceless people with flower crowns on their heads, water dancing, and Alina, with a flower crown of her own, chasing it all day long.

It had to be summer, when the rivers weren't frozen, and everybody danced.

She didn't really recall walking out of her rooms, nor the path towards the halls of the Little Palace, where the Winter Fete was being held.

She didn't register the looks she got from the nobles, the members of the royal family, and her fellow Grisha. She didn't remember when Genya had left her side and The General had taken over.

All she could think about was dancing water.

As she was guided up into a dais, she pictured fingers moving at the tempo of a song, and a thin strip of water doing the same thing.

As she was placed upon the dais, and The General's touch abandoned her just like the dancers had, she thought of a faceless man twirling her around until she felt dizzy.

And as the lights receded and shadows took over the space, surrounding everyone in the same nothingness she was feeling, Alina felt the yells of ravkan men and foreign ones, taking the strongest dancers they could find away from them and ending those who dared to resist them.

So she lifted her hands, called upon her light -a thin stream of gold- and made it dance. Orbs and strings shot out of her hands, waltzing about the room, slowly bringing the light back to it, dancing over everyone's heads, tantalizing them, teasing them.

The room was clear now, and Alina could see all the nobles gazing up in amazement, awestruck with her performance.

"Run!" her mother had shouted, so she did. Away from the people who wanted to learn how to dance by ugly means.

Her gaze shifted towards the two golden seats at her left, where the Tsar and the Tsaritsa sat and watched the spectacle. The woman was smiling up at the lights, while the man ran his greasy fingers through his chin, like a child trying to solve a puzzle far above their age capacity.

Alina looked at The General, taking him in for the first time. There was nothing on his face, just like there was almost nothing in her heart.

She nodded towards him once, and he made his shadows recede just as Alina abruptly called her light back to her, leaving everyone in uneasy darkness for a few moments before the natural lights of the candles and lanterns returned.

There was a round of applause, and some of the nobles even knelt before her, calling her 'Sankta'.

Alina wanted to laugh. Sankta? For what? Making light dance? Then every Grisha should be a Saint as well, in her eyes.

She stepped down with the help of Kirigan's offered hand, and was soon swarmed by an avalanche of nobles who wanted to talk to her, touch her face, her hands, her hair, or ask for a blessing.

"The only blessing I could offer is the lost of sight, but they haven't had that in a while."

She was rescued by Genya and Nina, each of them taking one of her arms and nudging their way out of the crowd and into a more darkened corner.

Alina looked at the Tsar, who spoke quietly with The Apparat, that strange, unnerving man who had given her a book shortly after her arrival at the Little Palace. Alina tried to avoid him.

The Apparat kept on looking at her, and she didn't like what she saw in those dark eyes of his.

"I need a favour." she said to the two women at her sides.

Shortly after, Genya was guiding The Apparat towards a most pious noblewoman and her husband as Alina made her way to the king.

"Moi Tsar." she bowed respectfully, although on her insides, she felt such a rage upon his sight she wanted to claw him open with her bare hands. A man who forced a young servant into his bed was deserving of nothing but endless pain. "I hope the demonstration lived up to your expectations."

"It was quite enchanting, my dear. Very, very lovely." the queen offered, seeming to be in a good mood. This time, her voice did almost sound ethereal. Maybe she was getting better, maybe she was just half drunk.

"Thank you, Moya Tsaritsa." Alina bowed to her as well, and it took all her willpower not to spit on her golden shoes.

If she had been feeling nothing before, she felt everything now.

"Yes, I suppose it was acceptable." the king said, regarding his audience. "I was expecting something more, dramatic, more…"

"Grand, perhaps?" she offered, her voice quaint and her smile soft. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nina subtly moving her hands, her green eyes trained on the king.

"Yes, I think so, yes." he nodded eagerly.

"Well, with all due respect, Moi Tsar, I have only discovered my abilities barely two seasons ago, and I wouldn't want to cause any accident, you understand?"

The king looked at her, almost indulgent, and smiled in what he must've thought was a lovingly way. She wanted to wrap her hands around his neck and choke him.

"Yes, that is very smart of you, Miss Starkov. I do remember the incident by the lake." he giggled, like it was the funniest thing in the world. The queen did as well, although hers was noticeably forced.

"But I assure you, with more training under General Kirigan's command, I should progress just fine." her smiled sweetened, and she all but battled her eyelashes at him. "Just have a little more patience, please."

"Of course, dear, of course." the king agreed whole-heartedly. "I trust Kirigan is training you well."

"Only the best for the Sun Summoner, Moi Tsar." Kirigan showed up next to her, bowing as she had done, although at a lesser angle.

"Good, good. Good job, you two!" the man congratulated them. "Keep it up, and we might be taking care of The Fold-"

"Soon." The General said, a glint to his grey eyes.

The king nodded, and as his gaze caught that of a young, pretty noblewoman, he dismissed them.

Alina took the arm Kirigan was offering her, slowly guiding her out of the main hall.

"What was that about?" he asked quietly.

Alina could tell he was not exactly pleased, but neither angry or disappointed.

The Summoner remembered everything he and Genya had said about the king, and she turned towards Nina to give her a nod of gratitude, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"The king is an impatient child." she said, her voice as low as his. "I just bought us some time."

"You should leave that to me and worry only about increasing your power."

"I was trying to help you." she said, turning to look him in the eye. It hadn't been just about her, just about giving them enough to love and not fear her, to admire and not haunt her; it had also been -to her embarrassment for some reason- to help him. "You once said there was no one else like us, so it only seems right that we should help each other." she looked around, and saw Lady Anastasia, the young woman from the queen's tea party, waving at her. She was accompanied by two other women. "Besides, compared to all of what you've done for me, this was nothing."

She left, again, before he could reply, putting on a happy face.

"Lady Anastasia. It's been a while."

"Oh! You remember me. Good!" the girl smiled, taking her arm and leading her to the two women who awaited patiently. She pointed at a tall, blonde woman; her hair only slightly lighter than Lady Anastasia's. "This is my sister Zasha, and her wife Galina." she pointed at a redhaired woman clad in a lovely green dress, who smiled softly at Alina. "Sisters, this is Miss Alina Starkov. We had the pleasure of making our acquaintance at one of the queen's tea parties."

At that, both women snorted, looking, for the briefest of moments, unpoised.

"I never heard of pleasure at those torture sessions." Zasha laughed softly, her voice like velvet, while her sister's was sweet as sugar.

"I can only imagine." Lady Galina said, rolling her eyes. "Did she mention at least one black sheep of each member at the table and then-"

"Finished with an 'oh, well' and moved on to the next victim." Alina did a small gesture with her hand, her voice raising to imitate the high-pitched tone of the queen.

All four women laughed quietly.

Alina stayed by Lady Anastasia's side for a few minutes, making idle conversation. It could do her good to have a friend on the court of the Grand Palace. Her sister, Zasha was very polite and elegant, always seeming to know what to say, causing her younger sister to shrink sometimes, although this was not malicious. Her wife Galina, on the other hand, was slightly more outspoken; she was like a rose: pretty, but full of thorns that could pinch anyone, and Saints did she like to pinch at some of the people at the Fete. Alina decided that the redhaired woman was alright, so long as she didn't get on her bad side.

"I must be going now," Alina said, disentangling her arm from Lady Anastasia's grip. "I mean no offense, but I'd like to spend some time with-"

"Your friends?" Lady Galina asked, taking a sip from her drink. She waved her hand off, smiling kindly. "We understand. Go, have fun, if its possible at this kind of circus."

Lady Zasha turned on a charming smile on her, and Alina's cheeks threatened to turn pink.

"It was very lovely to meet you, Miss Starkov. I know you will do great things for the good of Ravka." she bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for that scintillating demonstration earlier."

Alina awkwardly bid her farewell, turning to her right so she could whisper into Lady Anastasia's ear:

"I heard Nadia and some other Etherealki were headed for the banya, if you're interested."

The blonde woman's eyes sparkled, and she nodded subtly, a great grin giving her away.

Alina walked around the Palace grounds aimlessly. She had no destination in mind, and she didn't really care whether she got lost or not. She knew she was being followed anyways; The Darkling had said so to her weeks prior but still, she failed to see the Oprichniki in charge of her safety.

She rounded the lake slowly, seeing some Tidemakers trying to turn the ice back into liquid water so they could fool around. Smiling without feeling much, Alina lifted a hand and threw an arch of light over the surface of the lake, not being so afraid to burn anything.

By the time she finished her round around the lake, there was not a sign of ice in it. The Tidemakers whistled at her and asked her to join them, but she politely declined.

Reclining against a tree, she watched them play around with the water and the snow, making beautiful shapes and playfully fighting off each other.

They made the waters dance.

"Just like mamma." the thought came to her like a monotonous occurrence, yet as soon as it entered her head, she headed towards the stables, kicking that thought out of her head.

"Alina!"

She turned to see Nina running towards her, her breath visible due to the cold.

"Hey."

"Hey yourself, sun bean." the Heartrender linked their arms together. "You're hard to find, you know."

"I was just walking around."

"What a walk it must've been," she said, slightly panting. "I've been looking for you for over an hour. I only knew where you were when you did that thing on the lake."

"Oh, that."

"Yes, oh, that. If you want to go unnoticed by the Tsar, melting the ice of a lake is not a good way of doing it."

"How did you-?"

"Please," Nina rolled her eyes. "If I were in your shoes, I'd want to stall as much as possible too. king's an idiot and he knows nothing about Grisha."

That was true, and everyone except the Tsar himself seemed to know it.

"Why are you out here anyways?" Alina asked, allowing Nina to lead her back inside. "Wouldn't you rather be at the Fete?"

"If it was a real party, maybe." she turned her green gaze on the Sun Summoner, questioning. "Do you know what it takes to make a real party, Alina?"

She was afraid to answer, so she shook her head. Nina leaned in until their breaths mingled, and Alina could clearly see every freckle on her pretty face.

"Waffles."

"What are those?" she asked innocently.

Nina leaned back with such a force she almost took Alina down and gasped loudly, placing a hand to her chest.

"You've never had waffles before?"

"I-I don't even know what those are." Whatever they were, the kitchen staff back in Keramzin hadn't cared to make those for the orphans.

"It's only my one true love. C'mon!" she said, leading her around the Little Palace towards the Grand Palace. "The cooks love me and they'll make some for us."

"We'll get in trouble."

Nina barely gave her a glance.

"Please. They will barely notice. The party is still in full swing."

She turned to look at the Little Palace, filled with figures moving about and muffled music making its way out, harder to hear with every step she took in the direction of the ugliest building ever built.

Nina ushered her through a back entrance for servants and, true to her word, the few people still at work were more than happy to make them some waffles before heading out for the night.

The Sun Summoner watched them and realized that such a thing was simply not doable in Keramzin.

Alina then sat at a small, wooden table in front of Nina, staring down at a plate with a weird, circle cut into four with small squares inside of it.

"It won't bite you, you know; it’s the other way around."

That got a little laugh out of her and for a moment, she let herself relax in Nina's presence.

They took a small piece and Alina bit into it, feeling its crisp texture filling her mouth.

"Is it supposed to be sweet or savoury?"

"Both!" Nina exclaimed, taking another big bite, eyes alight. "That's why they're so amazing."

Alina tried a second and third bite before deciding she didn't like the dish. The brunette sitting across from her watched her in horror as she gulped down a glass of water to be rid of the taste.

"I can't believe it! I knew you couldn't be perfect …but I never imagined you could be this monstrous." Nina said, gesturing at her. "I'm sorry," she said, as Alina stood up and walked over to the kitchen counter, laughing to herself, feeling good for the first time that day. "But I can't be with someone who doesn't like waffles."

"That's a deal breaker for you?" she asked, not turning around, staring out the closed window, to the grand view of a blank wall. "Not, I don't know, creating The Fold or being a Drüskelle maybe?"

"Damn right!" She felt how Nina's hand came down to knock on the hard wood of the table. "Those I can forgive, but not liking waffles is just too horrendous."

"See it this way: more for you." she offered, looking down at her hands, wishing their conversation would never end. It was silly, meaningless almost, but in the best way and she wished she could have more of those types of talks.

"But I didn't want it all for myself;" she heard Nina say softly, and a few seconds later Alina saw the shadow of her figure over hers. She turned. "I wanted to share with you."

The Sun Summoner looked away for a moment, taken off guard. Was Nina saying what she thought she was saying?

She tried to think of it coldly: Nina grew up at the Little Palace and she was very popular around; she'd make a great ally.

But Alina couldn't just see it that way without feeling sick. Nina was pretty, smart, funny, nice, and she had been giving her straight signs since the moment they met, unlike some other people.

She looked her in the eyes: green against brown. Like a tree

"We could share something else." she whispered, too caught up taking up in her pretty features to think straight.

Nina closed the gap, taking her face in her hands. Alina closed her eyes as their lips met and danced together, soft against soft.

The Summoner's hand travelled to Nina's waist and she pulled her closer, clutching at the material of her kefta.

Their faces twisted to a side, their tongues danced with each other, and even though Alina couldn't forget about a pair of grey eyes, she clutched her eyes shut tighter and held onto Nina. For she was so lonely, and Nina was here. She had felt nothingness, and Nina made her laugh.

Alina began to pepper her jawline with kisses.

"You really are warm, sun bean." Nina gasped, holding her even closer still.

"You're warmer." she answered between kisses.

She didn't know if she'd regret it in the morning, but after years of pining and awkward, unreciprocated little affections; after months of uncertainty, and a day filled with a dreaded void, Alina let herself get a fill of Nina. This was something that felt good.

It wasn't perfect. It wasn't powerful or all-consuming and it didn't feel righteous, but it was finally something good and nice after so much peril, and she was glad to try and get lost in it.

The Darkling

He watched quietly, from the safety of his shadows, as Miss Zenik easily lifted Alina into the kitchen counter.

The Grand Palace kitchens.

"Truly. So uncouth." he thought.

Alina deserved better than a quick hand here and there on a kitchen; she deserved to be worshipped.

Or maybe she could be worshipped on a kitchen counter, just not by Nina Zenik.

He turned and left them to their activities, none of them aware of his presence.

The tether that bound them together had bought him there to talk to her, to find her…in someone else's arms.

There was no doubt that Alina felt a pull towards him as well, and although he was still struggling to maintain his control around her, that didn't mean he was willing to share in the meantime.

And Miss Zenik had been on leave for too long. Maybe it was time for a new assignment.

Click here for chapter X

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